Best Writer

Gavin Hanly: Although Robbie Morrison's certainly been on form with some excellent Dante and Dredd tales, this belongs to John Wagner, without a doubt, and mainly for Button Man and the continuing adventures of PJ Maybe over in the Megazine. Easily one of the best writers working in the business today.

Adam Crabtree: John Wagner, after a curiously erratic performance on Origins, got right back on the horse with new PJ Maybe stories and the ‘Mutants’ story arc that proved Gordon Rennie has a little way to go yet as a master of the long game. I have, admittedly, detected increased doses of sentimentality permeating the future lawman’s thick hide; it’s as the anniversaries keep mounting up, so do the moments where Dredd gets perhaps a little too righteous. I don’t worry though; not when he’s still serving up slick, cold blooded fare like Button Man IV.

James Mackay: Normally, nobody other than John Wagner should be considered for this category. But after a rather lacklustre run of Dredds and a less than heartstopping Button Man, I’d say that nobody’s name gives me as much confidence in their product as Robbie Morrison. (Shakara!)

Charles Ellis: With some great Dredds and cunning subplots at work, from Origins fall-out to Mayor Maybe, and his work on Button Man, I’m going with John Wagner. Second-place would be Robbie Morrison on the back of Dante and that nasty Dredd one-off in 1549. (And I love how a story showing violence begetting violence comes right before an issue where Dredd tells Cadets “screw being nice to perps, be violent!”)

Robert Cornell: Perhaps it’s that nostalgia vibe but after some thought I’m going for Pat Mills. Surprised? How do you think I feel?

Sure, he had one absolute catastrophe but looking back over the year as a whole, 2007 has seen his best output for many years. Rightly criticised in the past for relying on the Slain-Warriors-Slain-Warriors cycle, this year he came up with two complete new stories, Greysuit and Defoe, and continued the excellent Savage and revitalised ABC Warriors.

None of them perfect by any means and sometimes he trips over his own cleverness and looks like a total arse-head but all these stories are driven by ideas and feature those mad Mills moments that you just know no one else could come up with like Volkhan’s sudden appearance or the sight of Oliver Cromwell’s head at the window.

Alex Frith: Pat Mills. The man has delivered an outstanding number of strips this year, including the creation of one great new series - Defoe - and one not so great newish series but with some brilliant ideas in it - Greysuit. And I for one applaud the balls of the man who could re-write Dredd in such a unique fashion in Blood of Satanus III.

Daniel Payne: Robbie Morrison has done fine work in resurrecting Nikolai Dante's career in the past year or so, and delivered some excellent Dredd stories. It would have been enough to qualify him as the comic's best writing talent in some years; but in 2007 John Wagner has again justified his position, despite the disappointment of Button Man IV. The praise is due chiefly to Wagner's treatment of Dredd's moral crisis concerning the city's treatment of mutants, after his trials during the Origins scenario. This has led the characters down a new and interesting path; but he has written the story in a poignant way that lets us believe in Dredd and his associates as human beings. Consequently, his writing has again surpassed that of any other contributor this year.

Pete McCosh: I’ve tried to resist, but really there can be no argument about this: John Wagner. His expert juggling of multiple subplots and characters – Beeny, Dolman, PJ Maybe, etc – and the way he can turn a good story into a great one with a well-judged twist in the tail – see: Origins, Mandroid 2 – never cease to amaze. Add to this the way he always seems able to come up with a new direction to take, while making it all seem to spring naturally from the character and the strip itself and there really isn’t anyone else who comes close.

Considering that he can then rattle off a pretty decent Button Man story on his other typewriter, I sincerely hope the subtext I read into 50 Year Man (that Wagner himself plans to stick around for a while yet) is correct.

WR Logan: It may be a cop out and slight nepotism but even after 30 years of working for the House of Tharg only one droid keeps going when other droids just run out of steam, it’s not the Duracell bunny but John Wagner.

Steven Denton: John Wagner, single handedly saving British comics and showing no signs of getting worse with age. Wagner is the most consistent writer in 2000AD and the Megazine. He is the master of pulp fiction and the king of the taciturn anti hero. Judge Dredd Johnny Alpha and Harry Exton I salute you (and by extension your creative teams) 

Martin Charlton: Dan Abnett. I’m not saying it’s good, but I like Sin/Dex. Kingdom impressed and that’s really enough for me in a year when many stories (especially seemingly important tales like Origins or Button Man) have disappointed, both of these excelled expectations. Marvellous.